photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Karen O gets her Santa and JT on @ Brooklyn Bowl

The ongoing "I heart Jonathan Toubin" movement now has a website in addition to a Facebook. Check those sites for info on more upcoming JT benefits like the big one that happened at Brooklyn Bowl late Friday night into Saturday morning with appearances from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Reverend Vince Anderson (who plays Union Pool most Monday nights), Heavy Trash (with Jon Spencer), Stabbing Eastward (Tunde Adebimpe & Ryan Sawyer), Royal Baths and more. Here are some pictures. More of them below...

Continue reading "Yeah Yeah Yeahs & friends raised money for Jonathan Toubin @ Brooklyn Bowl (pics)"

Photos by Abbey Braden

Chavez @ ATP NJ

Tonight's cancelled Jon Spencer Blues Explosion show at Maxwell's has been rescheduled for November 29th. Jon says, ""I am terribly sorry but Russell has fallen ill and been told by his doctor not to play tonight's show. The condition is not serious, and should pass, but right now Russell can not rock'n'roll. Gotta cancel the gig. Sorry for any inconvenience. The date has been rescheduled for Tuesday November 29th. Maxwell's will honor any advance tickets purchased for October 13th. If people needs refunds they can get them wherever they bought the ticket. Ticketfly will send a notice out to on-line buyers."

Speaking of 90's Matador bands, Chavez, who recently played ATP in NJ (and Lit Lounge), appeared on Jimmy Fallon last night (10/12). They played two songs (one on air, one for web). Videos of both, along with more pictures from their ATP set (setlist included), below...

Continue reading "Jon Spencer show rescheduled, Chavez played Fallon (video & another set of pics from their set @ ATP)"

Blues Explosion @ SSSeaport in 2009 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

"Everywhere we go, people ask us, When will the Blues Explosion record a new album? And while I respect that spirit, and we are flattered and feel the passion of our fans, the reason to make a new record has to reside inside the Blues Explosion. And a show at the world-famous Maxwell's club in Hoboken New Jersey is a perfect opportunity to perform some new material before taking it into the recording studio." - Jon Spencer

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Razika - Eg Vetsje (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Razika - Nytt Pa Nytt (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dominant Legs - Hoop of Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dominant Legs - Where We Trip the Light (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nurses - "Fever Dreams" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tycho - "Dive" (MP3)

Razika

I guess this is the pre-CMJ edition of This Week In Indie which is a slightly less busy week than normal, though not by much. (And CMJ this year isn't the most exciting line-up I've seen for that matter, but we'll get to that next week.) In fact there's some pretty cool musical things you should be considering, so let's get into it.

As mentioned elsewhere on this site, Norway's Razika are playing Friday (10/14) at Cameo, their first-ever U.S. show, and only one for now. You may not think you need a Norwegian all-girl ska band in your life, and maybe you don't, but Razika do it really well. I wasn't expecting to like it. And really, what they do is more ska-tinged pop than actual ska. Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. There's definitely a Lilliput/Kleenex vibe (or even Electrelane for a more modern comparison) to what they do. And the songs are crazy catchy. You can get half-price tickets ($5) if you use this link.

It's a good show all around at Cameo, with Ski Lodge whose EP I like a lot. As I've said before, it's like early Smiths meets Beach Fossils. The other band on the bill is Lips which is New Zealander Stephanie Brown who now lives in Brooklyn. I like the songs on her Bandcamp page, which are kind of laptop soul, not entirely unlike Little Dragon or, you. There's a really cute video for her song "One Not Two" at the bottom of this post.

Dominant Legs

San Francisco's Dominant Legs  and tourmates Nurses are in town, playing Mercury Lounge on Friday (10/14) and Glasslands on Saturday (10/14). Dominant Legs released their debut LP, Invitation, last month on Lefse Records and it's an appealing take on effervescent '80s pop, completely with lightly funky guitars, glistening keyboards and big choruses. You can download a couple songs from Invitation at the top of this post.

As for Nurses, the Portland trio get called "psych-pop" a lot which I guess is code for "vaguely MGMT-ish" but it's the funkier side of that band and not really so much psych to my ears. There's a lot of echo on it, I guess that's psychedelic. That said, their new album Dracula is pretty catchy and danceable and is more directly comparable to fellow Portlandians Unknown Mortal Orchestra than anyone else. You can download a track at the top of this post.

Tycho

And lastly, Tycho is at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday (10/16). (Tickets are still available.) The Bay Area electronic artist released his new album, Drive, last week on Ghostly and I've been listening to it a lot. No doubt it owes a giant debt to Boards of Canada, more in the dreamlike synth sounds than in execution. Tracks like "Hours" (downloadable above) more blatantly danceable than BoC but it's still the kind of record you could sleep to as well. And though I no longer have a car, this would be good music behind the wheel, and not just because of the album title.

While listening to Drive, you might think that a live show might just be just a guy and a laptop, Scott Hansen has a full Tycho band that looks to be pretty good from the YouTube clips I've watched. Canada's Teen Daze are also on the bill, and blissed-out Swedes Korallreven are the DJs for the evening.

That's the major stuff for this week...though don't forget Lotion plays their first show in ten years on Monday (10/17) at Knitting Factory! More day-by-day picks are below.

Arkells

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12

Early show tonight at Mercury Lounge: Canadian fourpiece The Arkells whose 2008 debut was one of that year's undiscovered gems, full of hook-filled, strident heartland rock that would've done gangbusters in the '80s. (You may remember me writing about them from M for Montreal.) Their new album, Michigan Left, is out next week in Canada.

I'm ashamed to admit I haven't given The Rosebuds' new album, Loud Planes Fly Low, enough attention but I definitely like what I have heard. You can download "Woods" at the top of this post. One of the nicest bands around, The Rosebuds are always good live and if you've never seen them before, they play Bowery Ballroom tonight. Want to go for free? We have a couple of pairs of tickets you can win if you email bvcontests@hotmail.com (subject: Rosebuds) right now. Include your first and last name in the email and we'll get back to the winners with instructions.

Xeno & Oaklander @ Home Sweet Home.

continued below....

Continue reading "Razika, Tycho, Dominant Legs, Nurses, Arkells, Laetitia Sadier & more in This Week in Indie"

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Brooklyn Bowl in 2010 (more by Ryan Muir)

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion spent a good portion of the past year touring in support of reissues stuffed with rare/unreleased tracks, including appearances at Matador 21, Pitchfork, and other dates. The band's other recent accomplishments include a split with Melvins on AmRep and a SuperBowl commercial. In the future you can catch the the NYC trio on October 13th at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ. Tickets are on sale. So far no other dates have surfaced.

Jon Spencer @ Brooklyn Bowl in April (more by Ryan Muir)

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are playing a free NYC show in December, but you have to RSVP UPDATE: The show is private. Flyer removed at request of all involved :/

Pete Seeger @ Clearwater Festival 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

City Winery will be hosting a three-night oil spill relief benefit, dubbed Reclaim The Coast, on July 23rd, 25th and 30th. The lineups vary for each...

July 23rd: Pete Seeger, Richard Barone, James Maddock, Elysian Fields, Mike Doughty, Lucy Wainwright Roche, The Roches, Julie Gold, Peter Yarrow (More TBA)

July 25th: Ian Axel, Ed Romanoff, The Madison Square Gardeners, Paula Valstein, The Spring Standards, The Wellspring, Rich Pagano (More TBA)

July 30th: Marshall Crenshaw, Martin Rivas, Christina Courtin, Among the Oak & Ash, Jay Nash (More TBA)

They'll also have a packed house for "Channeling Chilton - A night of Alex Chilton's Music" on July 28th. The confirmed lineup includes Yo La Tengo, Marshall Crenshaw, Jody Stephens, Jon Auer, Doug Garrison, Rene Coman, Alan Vega, Jon Spencer (of the Blues Explosion), Fran Kowalski, Chris Stamey, Lesa Aldridge (Elizabeth Hoehn), Jay Proctor (of Jay & the Techniques), Bill Cunningham, Gary Talley, Terry Manning, Evan Dando, Jesse Malin, Danny Kroha (of The Gories). In light of the recent passing of founding Big Star bassist Andy Hummel, it should be an emotional night.
Tickets are on sale.

More info on the Gulf Coast relief effort are below...

Continue reading "City Winery hosting a 3-night Pete Seeger Oil Spill relief benefit & Big Star tribute night"

photos by Kate Gardiner

"And Yawnfork continues." - Jim DeRogatis

Robyn dominated Friday @ the Pitchfork Festival

"Who knew the best performer of the day would be a blonde bombshell spinning Euro-disco? Robyn -- another Swede and a former child star who's fought hard to regain her own artistic control -- came out throwing punches in the air when she wasn't doing that elbows-high, shoulder-leaning dance all '80s female singers used to do. Fiesty, sexy, spunky, Robyn opened with the virtues of being a "Fembot," assured us that love hurts "With Every Heartbeat" and sang flawlessly through new single "Dancing on My Own" in front of a band dressed in all white, twiddling knobs and pounding synth-pad drums. The latter really exploded at the end of "Cobrastyle," with Robyn showing some kick-box dancing. Her Pink-ish pluck reached its zenith in "Don't F---ing Tell Me What to Do," during which she led some kind of aerobics class (sporting a totally Pat Benatar green beret, too). And she was the crowd favorite. Go figure." [Chicago Sun Times]

This post comes five hours into Day Two of the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival (which is streaming online). Tonight's remaining acts are Wolf Parade, Panda Bear, and LCD Soundsystem. More pictures and a few videos from most of what came prior, below....

Continue reading "Pitchfork Fest 2010 - Day 1 & most of Day 2 (pictures & video) "

Matador's 21st birthday fest will be happening in Las Vegas October 1st-3rd. For it, they've pulled the cream of the indie-rock crop. Previously speculated headliners Belle & Sebastian and Pavement will be there - on top of that, Guided By Voices will be reuniting to play, "in the band's "classic '93-'96 lineup!" The most recent show for GBV was New Year's Eve 2004/05.

In addition to those three, the lineup includes Sonic Youth, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, New Pornographers, Superchunk, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Guitar Wolf (who also play NY), Chavez, Girls, Fucked Up, Harlem, Cold Cave, Shearwater, Kurt Vile and Jeffrey Joe Jenson. More will be annonuced July 5th.

A flyer is below...

Continue reading "Matador Fest lineup announced - Guided by Voices reunion! + Guitar Wolf, Belle & Sebastian, Pavement & many more"

photos by Ryan Muir

"There never would have been a White Stripes or Black Keys without Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Dude is killing it at Brooklyn Bowl!" - Todd Goodwin

NY Press: Over the course of this year, all of the band's albums are going to be re-released, but what about new material?

Jon Spencer: Not all of them, but a lot of them. We started with this compilation, which is an overview of the first 10 years of the band. In a couple months, we'll release Now I Got Worry and Contro Negro and a couple months after that will be Year One, all of the records released in the band's first year. All in all, there will be six albums.

NY Press: You're also releasing a best-of compilation. Is that the material we can expect to hear at the Brooklyn Bowl show?

Jon Spencer: We'll definitely be pulling from all six albums, all of the albums really, and maybe some new stuff. I've been meaning to think about what's on the compilation and maybe hit those songs. We never use a set list, we just get up and do it, so what we're going to do is not know until we get there.

Meanwhile, one of Jon's other bands, Heavy Trash just kicked off a tour that will hit The Saint in Asbury Park on April 28th and then Mercury Lounge in NYC the next day. All dates and more pictures from Brooklyn Bowl, below...

Continue reading "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion played Brooklyn Bowl w/ Golden Triangle (pics), Heavy Trash touring (dates) "

Modest Mouse @ Terminal 5 in March 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Modest Mouse will join Faith No More and Nas & Damian Marley (tickets) as one of the acts set to play at Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn this summer. Their Friday, July 23rd show will be ticketed/non-free (like the others mentioned). Tickets go on sale Friday at noon (which is when the just-added Faith no More show goes on sale too).

Modest Mouse's Brooklyn show is a week after they play the Pitchfork Festival which recently updated its lineup. New acts playing the Chicago fest include Big Boi, Major Lazer, Neon Indian, Beach House, Free Energy, Local Natives, Robyn & more. Check that out in full below. Single day tickets are still on sale.

UPDATE: Modest Mouse's Brooklyn show is one day after they play one in NJ.

Modest Mouse will be reissuing their third album, The Moon & Antarctica, on vinyl for its 10th anniversary, on Record Store Day - this Saturday, April 17th. "The album features restored original artwork and replicates the infinite lock groove found in the original vinyl pressings of 2000. The new vinyl reissue includes a download card for the album." All dates the the P4K Fest lineup, below...

Continue reading "Modest Mouse playing Williamsburg Waterfront, the Pitchfork Festival (updated full lineup) & other tour dates"

The Pitchfork Music Festival celebrates its 5th anniversary this year at Union Park in Chicago. It runs from Friday July 16th - Sunday July 18th. Three-day passes are now sold out, but you can still get single-day passes on Ticketweb.

The Updated Lineup is below:

Continue reading "Pitchfork Festival updates lineup (Broken Social Scene, Jon Spencer, Panda Bear, Girls, El-P & more) "

Jon Spencer @ South Street Seaport in 2009 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is playing Brooklyn Bowl on April 16th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on AmEx presale for the Mumford & Sons / Middle East show at Webster Hall. Coming to SXSW? Catch The Middle East at the BrooklynVegan showcase and other shows.

Tickets are on AmEx presale for the Melvins / Isis show at Webster Hall. Yes, in case you missed our update to the earlier post, many of the Melvins dates are with Isis. Also a Music Hall of Williamsburg show is on their schedule.

Tickets are on AmEx presale for the Best Coast show at Mercury Lounge.

Regina Spektor, Local Natives & Jamie Lidell tickets are also on sale.

Sean Bones is playing Mercury Lounge on April 7th. Tickets are on sale.

JBM is opening for Rogue Wave and Avi Buffalo tonight (and he did last night). He also has his own show coming up at Mercury Lounge on April 12th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on sale for the show Harlem is playing at Mercury Lounge. It's one of a few NYC-area shows they play that week.

Broken Social Scene, Massive Attack, Public Image Ltd & Specials tickets are on sale too.

by Martin Longley

Er, well, I fucked up slightly. It's my first time at The Bowery Electric and I arrive at eleven, thinking that the gig's happening until midnite. By eleven-twenty, Heavy Trash have fully climaxed, and there's not going to be an encore, despite the crowd doing an extremely good job of baying out over the rockabilly/blues disco. Even so, the Heavy Trash experience is so densely intense that such a brief exposure almost feels equivalent to most other combos playing a full gig. The Electric's an impressively cave-like basement den, and Heavy Trash are completely dominating its intimate space. The gangly Jon Spencer is going for a Mexican Elvis look, testifying down on one knee, or down on the floor, or casting his blank gaze up to the ceiling.

Having witnessed his Blues Explosion several times over the years, this is my first exposure to Heavy Trash. It's a natural evolution back in time to rockabilly, and even rock'n'roll, but fed through the Spencer grater, amped up into a frothing frenzy. He's doing his extended band-introduction speech, but the Spencer mind's going blank and he's being fazed by familiar faces in the crowd-front. All of the band are providing sweet-toned backing vocals, magnifying the cabaret-irony vibrations. Spencer's strumming an electrified acoustic guitar, with Matt Verta-Ray handling the electric-twang soloing. Reverb soaks all, not least Spencer's hiccup-ing vocals. The drums and upright bass pick up their pace and there's a full re-launch into song as the Trash deliver their final frenetic surge. Fortunately, they're playing again at Santos Party House next Tuesday nite...

The Tuesday (10/20) show in question is the Panache/NY Night Train CMJ showcase that is happening on two floors of the venue. Flyer and set times below....

Continue reading "Heavy Trash played Bowery Electric, playing NY Night Train CMJ show at Santos Party House (full lineup)"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Ryan Muir

Steve Albini in Shellac

"We're taking a bath, but I don't care," Barry Hogan told [Sasha Frere-Jones]. We were standing in the makeshift production office for the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, at Kutsher's, a resort in the Catskills.

Kutsher's, where Muhammad Ali trained and a thousand schticks were born, was once the jewel of the Borscht Belt. The main venue at Kutsher's, the Stardust Ballroom, has a capacity of 2,800. But Hogan seemed largely unbothered that only 1,800 tickets to ATP had sold. It is 2009, after all.

Considering the bad coffee situation and the fun that I had the day before, Sufjan was spot on. Clad in tie-dye that the band had purchased at the general store at Kutsher's, the five piece were delicate, light and lilting. Sufjan's bright banjo strums and songs, like the sunny "Sister", resonated so well in the Stardust Ballroom. The Seven Swans album was an excellent choice for a wake-up set on the second day of the three day upstate NY festival (Saturday, September 12, 2009).

After Sufjan, I wandered over to catch a crew of young Aussies named Bridezilla. Though their name is a touch offputting, guitarist/vocalist Holiday Sidewinder has a sexy and breathy coo that recalled PJ Harvey and their her cocktail-dress-ed crew were a surprise and a delight.

Grouper were next, and as a fan of 2008's Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill, I was eager to check out Liz Harris's ambient soundscapes. Playing to a projection of an ocean at night, the stage show wasn't much visually but the tides of noise was otherworldly.

Conversely, Black Dice in the same room was a psychedelic mindfuck. Blasts of tribal noise beats nodded heads and shook them in equal measure.

As a fan of Bradford Cox, it was great to see him pull a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning with Atlas Sound. Rolling solo with guitar, harmonica, and some backing tracks, Cox was engaging both in song and with between song banter. I would regrettably end up missing Deerhunter's set a few hours later. Drowned in Sound was there though:

Bradford Cox is a picture of serenity as he swaps his shirt for a more tasteful number and leads Deerhunter into their Saturday night set. He announces that this will be their last performance for some time, causing the band to roll out the hits in quick-fast fashion. They gallop through 'Cryptograms' and 'Nothing Ever Happened', the positively herculean double guitar sound feeling unstoppable and a sense of jubilation ricocheting between the walls as people succumb to these great big shining pop songs. The closing 'Calvary Scars' is a slab of beautiful kraut-pop, with Lockett Pundt's metallic Tim Gane-esque strum leading the way, face-painted kids jerking their bodies back and forth, and Cox looking genuinely sad that this will be the last time these songs will be wrung from his fingers and throat for a while.

Sleepy Sun were line checking when I got back to the second stage, with vocalist Rachael Williams checking her levels in the monitor

"Check. Check. I. Hi. Me. You. All of you. Us. Getting nervous."

If they had nerves, the band channeled them into positive energy. Sleepy Sun's influences fit right in with their hometown, San Francisco, as the band dabble in a psychedelic California sound with some krautrock-y elements. I was most struck by their fantastic drummer Brian Tice as well as vocalist Williams, who ripped out a solo that had the crowd shouting and applauding. Wayne Coyne watched the band from stage left, clearly impressed.

After an elongated line check, El-P came on and with a four-piece band (Chin Chin) and hypeman (Mighty Quinn) to the sound of "Tasmanian Space Coaster". I have a soft spot for El-Producto's Blade Runner beats and post-apocalyptic rhyme styles, and it was great to see a Hip Hop artist who actually puts an emphasis on his live show. As a matter of fact, El-P put a little too much of himself out there, almost falling off the stage after pogo-ing around during "Smithereens". Careful dude... we need a follow-up to I'll Sleep When You're Dead.

I hadn't seen Akron/Family since the then more acoustic-centric band played Tonic many years ago (with Hamid Drake?) and it was refreshing to see their energy were still in place. Against a backdrop of a tie-dyed American flag, the band played a rousing and ripping set. It's good to see that the loss of Ryan Vanderhoof to a Buddhist center hasn't slowed them a bit.

Autolux had the discordant riffs, feedback squalls, and a 90s alt punk sound to hit all of the right influences (Joy Division, Sonic Youth, etc), but unfortunately didn't really distinguish themselves from their influences. Autolux isn't offensive by any means, just not compelling or distinctive, and I find it a touch disappointing that guitarist Greg Edwards was a member of Failure (a band that I dug).

Dead Meadow and their fuzzy freakout psych blues were riffing on Stage Two towards the end of the Autolux set, but by half way in, the crowd had diminished considerably due to Shallac on the main. For shame, as the trio played a ripping set!

continued below...

Continue reading "ATP NY 2009 - Day 2 pics & review (Atlas Sound, Deerhunter, El-P, Boss Hog, Shellac, Animal Collective, Dead Meadow...) "

photos by Tim Griffin

Those Darlins

The first two-thirds of the show was utterly tension-free, with the band getting by on concept. The tragic "Mama's Heart" lacked punch, and "Little Darling Pal of Mine," a Carter Family cover, was sluggish. The songs later improved in direct proportion to how involved Kelley was. Her singing on "Who's That Knockin' at My Window" and "Hung Up on Me" was forceful, and when she switched to guitar for "Cannonball Blues," the band finally appeared in full color. (Kelley founded the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp, in which Jessi participated.)

Still, the night's best moments came toward the end, when Those Darlins didn't appear to be worried about being a good band, or even a band at all. During "Shakin' All Over," Nikki brought an awkward male fan onstage for some cringeworthy dancing, saved only by her arched eyebrow. At the encore, "Fun Stix Party" devolved into a raucous, peppy shoutfest that was also the most technically flamboyant song of the night. And after the lights came up, Those Darlins set down their instruments, walked out onto the main floor and danced as the crowd filed out. It was the loosest they'd been all night. [NY Times]

Continue reading "Those Darlins, Shilpa Ray & Heavy Trash (Jon Spencer) @ Mercury Lounge in NYC - pics & setlists"

words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

"I gotta go! I'm gonna ride my bike right out of here," said Jon Spencer at the end of the Blues Explosion's blistering hour-long set at the South Street Seaport yesterday (6/17). Playing to the riding masses as part of the Bicycle Film Festival kickoff, JSBX reminded those who braved threatening skies and this enduring spring's chilly temperatures that - as one foam finger displayed - the 'Blues is #1.'

The crowd may have been smaller than most to pack the Seaport but the New York-based Blues Explosion might as well have been playing for every single person in Lower Manhattan. Judah Bauer on guitar (and a fiery harmonica during the encore, "Bellbottoms") and drummer Russell Simins charged from one song to another with traditional reckless abandon.

Opening for the locals were French four-piece, The Teenagers. Their mashup of punk, pop and electronics was fun though lead-singer Quentin Delafon pulled much of the attention away from the band as a whole. Climbing over speakers and through the photographer's pit and over the barricade, Delafon spent more time strutting around off the stage, or handing his microphone off to audience members than he did on stage, even forgetting his cue at one point.

More pictures below...

Continue reading "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion & The Teenagers @ South Street Seaport in NYC (Bike Film Fest) - pics"

photos by Gabi Porter

The Jon Spencer BLUES EXPLOSION and The Teenagers to Play FreeBikes RockConcert at The Seaport

Kick Off to New York City Bicycle Film Festival
Wednesday, June 17, 6 p.m. Pier 17 Stage, The Seaport
Free

Continue reading "free Bicycle Film Fest show @ the Seaport w/ Jon Spencer Blues Explosion & The Teenagers who played CMJ (pics) "

Guitarist Gary Lucas is well-known for his collaborations, which include a five-year stint with Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band (playing on Doc at the Radar Station and Ice Cream for Crow), co-writing songs on Jeff Buckley's Grace and many, many more.

Lucas is currently in the midst a three-day run of NYC shows (May 10th-12th). He performed his original guitar score to film Paint What You Remember at the Jewish Museum on the 10th. On the 11th, he performed the music of Tom Waits at the release party of book Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits at the Center. And his last gig is tonight, May 12th, at the Gershwin Hotel where Gary is playing the music of John Lennon at the Give Peace a Song Cabaret.

The guitarist's next big appearance is the 20th anniversary show for his psych-rock group Gods and Monsters which takes place on Thursday, June 11th at the Gramercy Theatre "with Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers) bass, Billy Ficca (Television) drums, Jason Candler (Hungry March Band) alto sax, and Joe Hendel (The Latest Show on Earth) keyboards and trombone, with special guests including Alan Vega, Lenny Kaye, Peter Stampfel, Jon Spencer, and Dean Bowman". Tickets are on sale.

Lucas' YouTube channel is massively stocked with well-shot live footage of the guitarist in a number of musical settings. Clips of Lucas with Gods with Monsters at the Bowery Poetry Club in June 2008 are posted, along with all dates, below....

Continue reading "Gods & Monsters' 20th anniversary @ The Gramercy w/ guests ++ other Gary Lucas tour dates"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: 18th Dye - Soft the Hard Way (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Powersolo - Pirates of the Oblivion (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band - Ten Cities Beyond (Mp3)

Powersolo

South by Southwest is kind of like other people's dreams. If you're not apart of it, you may not want to hear about it. But at least for those in NYC, we do get some of SXSW's runoff, with many bands from Not America making pit stops here before or after the Austin onslaught. We did a rundown of Australia's offers last week, so in this few-part series I'll highlight some of the more notable bands from the UK and elsewhere in Europe who'll be visiting us over the next three weeks.

We started with Mumford & Sons, Peggy Sue and Jay Jay Pistolet. Let's continue with three bands, who if nothing else, have at least two things in common. They are all signed to Copenhagen indie label Crunchy Frog, and they're all playing that label's showcase at Santos Party House in NYC on March 16th (Jon Spencer is DJing). More info on that show and 18th Dye, Powersolo, and Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band, below...

Continue reading "18th Dye, Powersolo & Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band coming to NYC & SXSW - MP3's, videos, tour dates"

Jon Spencer's band Heavy Trash is playing Mercury Lounge on March 15th. Tickets go on sale @ noon.

Peter Kember of Spacemen 3 aka Spectrum is playing Mercury Lounge on April 26th. Tickets are currently on Am Ex presale.

Chris Corner of Sneaker Pimps aka IAMX is playing Bowery Ballroom on June 4th. Tickets are currently on Am Ex Presale.

photos by Tim Griffin

Boss Hog played their first show back together as a band last night, December 3rd, at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ. Front-woman Christina Martinez stayed fully clothed as she and hubby Jon Spencer (and drummer and keyboardist and bassist) tore through a set of their bluesy punk rock songs, in alphabetical order, to an enthusiastic crowd. They played an encore, but not "White Out" (It was requested, they refused). Tickets are still on sale for their December 17th NYC show at Bowery Ballroom. All dates HERE. More Maxwell's pictures below...

Continue reading "Boss Hog (Jon Spencer) @ Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ - pics"

As previously reported, Boss Hog are back in action and have shows scheduled in the UK, @ Maxwell's and at Bowery Ballroom in December...

Explaining their eight-year hiatus, Cristina says, "It's been two torturous terms of Republican disease and culture death. Now that we're free, it's the perfect time for us to bring back our own brand of sick in celebration."

Adds her live-in guitarist, Jon Spencer, "This whole 'change' thing isn't new... Boss Hog represented change with every album we made!"

Joining Boss Hog at the Bowery Ballroom is a full compliment of rhythm and grind, featuring the country punk moxie of Tennessee's Those Darlins, the titillating parade of burlesque goddesses Harvest Moon and Dirty Martini, and special guest DJ Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Sponsered by the fabulous BUST magazine

by Black Bubblegum

If there's one thing that ATP is good at, it's a reunion. One gaze through the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas 2008 lineup and it becomes evident that the Melvins and Mike Patton haven't let us down with the addition of Boss Hog. The Jon Spencer/Cristina Martinez (husband-wife) project (formed post-Pussy Galore and pre-Blues Explosion) will be, though technically not broken up, playing their first gig in over seven years.

A little history, courtesy the world's most accurate online encyclopedia:

Boss Hog was formed in 1989, as something of an accidental side project, when Jon and Cristina were told of a last minute vacancy on the bill at the influential New York punk club CBGB's. The pair put together a group of musicians from members of The Honeymoon Killers and Unsane, along with Kurt Wolf from Pussy Galore. The gig is reported to have been an underground sensation in New York, not least because Cristina performed the whole show naked.

The same line-up of Spencer, Martinez, Charlie Ondras, Jerry Teel and Kurt Wolf recorded the mini-album Drinkin', Lechin' & Lyin' for the record label Amphetamine Reptile in 1989. Martinez continued the sexual notoriety by appearing on the cover naked save for thigh-length black leather stilletto boots and arm-length black leather gloves.

Jon Spencer has also been keeping busy lately with his band Heavy Trash. They played a few NYC shows back in August. We're not sure what else Christina is up to. All Boss Hog dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Boss Hog (Jon Spencer) - ATP UK, Maxwells & Bowery too?"

Boss Hog - Drinkin' Lechin' & Lyin'